1/14/2022 5:30am. 78 y.o. “truck” driver southbound Rural Road near Carver in south Tempe for unexplained reasons lost control and crossed over into northbound lanes, continued on up to sidewalk where he killed 59 y.o. Alice Myskowski who was sitting at a bus stop waiting for her bus to work.
This kind of thing — drivers just do the darndest things — happens a lot; these are not “freak accidents”. Here’s a small sample: Car Drives Into Man At Tempe Bus Stop; leg amputated, woman killed at Tempe bus stop by out-of-control driver, Bus Stop Killed, 2 peds killed, 1 hurt after pickup truck slams into bus stop, Teen, unborn baby killed after crash sent car onto Phoenix sidewalk… There are many many more, these are just a handful that I know about that have happened in my area.
Peruse many more ridiculous stories here. Expect to hear — if we ever hear — the outcome is this was “just an accident”. Unless a driver is falling-down-drunk, and he apparently wasn’t, he won’t be charged with any crime. The “investigated for possible charges” is just window dressing. See similar: Woman dies after being hit by car on Ahwatukee sidewalk.
Light trucks are known to be more deadly to pedestrians and their drivers are responsible for a disproportionate share of pedestrian deaths, compared to cars.
Rural Road in south Tempe is, by the way, comi-tragically wide… over eighty feet wide. Fun fact, until a year or two ago, it did not have striped bike lanes. It is currently striped with 7 “car lanes” (center lane plus three in each direction) plus two much-wider-than-usual bike lanes. The picture at left was taken during morning “rush hour”. It is vastly over-capacity. How did this street get so freakin’ wide? (The “extra”, third, thru lane in here extends for about 2 miles from Knox to the Western Canal; in some places it’s one direction, in others both)
Driver under investigation after woman hit, killed at Tempe bus stop
TEMPE, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) – Police say the driver of a pickup truck is being investigated for possible charges after allegedly hitting and killing a woman who was sitting at a bus stop in Tempe last Friday… It happened at about 5:30 a.m. on Jan. 14 in the area of Warner and Rural roads. According to police, the pickup was going south on Rural Road when the driver, now identified as 78-year-old Leroy Jones, lost control and veered into the northbound lanes and then into the bus stop. Police say Jones stopped a short distance away.
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As a friend of the deceased, I found that heading very offensive. Surely there are better phrases to use than “snuffed out”.